Onyx Equinox Review

Onyx Equinox is a Meso-American tale that involves Aztec warriors, Gods, and demons. It is considered violent themed but I wouldn’t let younger children watch it. Cruncyroll is hosting this show produced by Asia and Tiger Animation, but It’s considered a western animation, not an anime so some people may be turned away from the show. I had no expectations but it has a vibe like Avatar the Last Airbender so I gave it a shot.  I feel like it’s pretty good and people should still give it a try to see if they like it first.

The gist of the plot 

The story follows Izel, the main character who loses his sister in a traditional Aztec ritual offering her to the Gods. His sister Nelly, offered to sacrifice herself because she didn’t want Izel to die. 

The gods and demons are at full blown war with each other and people are visibly seen hurting themselves to summon powerful beings to fight against the demons hurting women and children. People are dragged into this fight, moreover particularly Izel and his friends to close the gates of hell. 

Without revealing too much of the story, let’s go over the main characters

Izel 

Instead of expecting the main character to be this overly powered strong tough guy, Izel is an anxious timid guy who later becomes the hero. I think Izel being more ‘human’  makes him more relatable to people. He is saved from death and chosen by the Gods but he doesn’t believe in himself. Let’s face it, most people don’t start off as overly powered without working at it. It takes daily work.  

Other side characters 

Yaotl 

Yaotl is your tough demon jaguar bro that everyone likes. He started off being a familiar for one of the demons. He was sent by one of them to Izel since he is the key to sealing the gates and winning the war. It still remains unclear a bit to me why heaven didn’t send a champion instead of hell but maybe I’m getting confused. The first episode is still hazy and I’m three episodes in right now. Anyway, Yaotl is like Izel’s guide for saving humanity. 

It was also revealed in episode 4 that Yaotl was once a human before he became an emissary for the underworld/jaguar. 

At the moment not too many of Izel’s other friends have been introduced, but I’m trying my best to catch up. 

K’in and Yun 

These two characters are twin sibling soccer ball players. Apparently their dad wouldn’t let them play in the real Aztec game of soccer where it gets more violent. They meet Izel through their father who turns out to be Izel’s father who abandoned him and Nelly. Izel seeks out the man and gets upset with him while they stand by. They later seek out Izel feeling sorry for him and use him to get the mystical soccer ball item that Izel was looking for on his journey. 

Unfortunately, the ball is bonded to the twins instead of Izel and they are reluctant but join Izel’s team but are forced to come along with Izel after Yaotl threatens them. 

Monster Hunter Girl 

Izel recruits yet another ally who willingly wants to travel with the group. Her name hasn’t been revealed yet but she seems like an interesting character. She has the whole ‘my village was destroyed and I became a monster hunter’ tough girl trope going for her and I think she was shown in the first episode when the village was being destroyed. She hunts monsters and offers to help Izel if they travel to her village to look for the next gate. In the end of episode 4, it is revealed she turns into a creature at night. It was very brief but I couldn’t tell if it was a lizard or what it was exactly, some people are guessing a werewolf. I think she’s my second favorite character so far next to Izel, the show is getting good! 

Conclusion

The show starts off a bit slow but I think after the first three episodes, there starts getting more action in episode 4 and we start meeting more new allies/interesting characters in Izel’s party. I think this show is underrated and more people should give it a chance. It’s also a cool way to learn more about Aztecs and Latin history!